The Raveonettes - Chain Gang Of Love

Chain Gang of Love is a great album; critics of the Raveonettes' debut Whip It On complained that the Danish duo was too close in sound and intent to the early Jesus and Mary Chain. Most, though, revelling in the band's joyful B-movie bacchanalia, were impressed by self-imposed parameters demanding that every track be a brief rush of feedback-laden pop delivered in B-minor.

Thankfully, the same simple swagger characterises their excellent follow-up. Similar limits are in evidence here, all songs being in B-Flat Major, but Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo now employ different tempos and moods. Both "Remember" and "Love Can Destroy Everything" are slow romances, recalling the heavy melodrama of the Shangri-Las, while "The Truth about Johnny" is a warped beat pop. Elsewhere there's the rapid, funky "Let's Rave On" and the improbably dirty riff of "Little Animal", a sex song with a gloriously apocalyptic twist.

Naturally, with the Raveonettes aiming to create timeless pop, love and sex are much in evidence, from the S&M-marked "The Love Gang" through to thwarted affections and emotional disruption of single "That Great Love Sound". At 33 minutes, Chain Gang of Love is half as long again as its predecessor, but anyone with a feel for 60s' pop and melodic garage will be overjoyed at that. --Dominic Wills